2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2009
Endless Human Sacrifices
Thursday's editorial "Shared Sacrifice" contends "that because the United States has an all-volunteer military, only a small percentage of the American people are bearing the burden in the war against terrorism and the occupation of Iraq."
The editorial thinks more Americans should "make real sacrifices to the war effort" but does not specify those sacrifices.
Does the editorial board think we should expand the military through paying more taxes, cutting social programs, or both? Does the editorial board think we should reinstate the draft?
These two obvious sacrifices would probably make the Bush administration even more warlike and imperialist, thus increasing terrorist attacks against us.
The above piece first appeared as a letter in the Beaver County Times on February 14, 2007. Reprinted by permission. The editorial "Shared Sacrifice" appeared in that newspaper on February 8, 2007. I would have asked in my letter why anyone should "make real sacrifices" for the illegal and dubious Iraq War, but I'd already called the war illegal and dubious (not in those exact words) in a previous letter, and for some reason I didn't feel like repeating myself.
As a teenager, I delivered a weekly local newspaper called News, which carried a cornball comic strip called Rural Delivery. That strip was a window upon the past, a funny-page past in which guys always wore white gloves with vertical lines on the back...Newsbeefs, Home.
� 2007 David V. Matthews